Nick Leverett briefly stepped in as the Patriots’ David Andrews replacement at center. He struggled in that role, however, and the team is set to move on. 
New England will release Leverett, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The move (which is now official) comes after he was charged by PFF with 10 pressures and one sack allowed in Week 5 against the Dolphins. In advance of Sunday’s contest, the Patriots added Ben Brown off the Raiders’ practice squad. It was Brown who got the start at center yesterday, a sign of how Leverett was viewed in the organization.
Now, the the latter will hit the open market. Leverett, 27, began his career with the Buccaneers in 2020. It was one year later that he made his regular season debut, appearing in a pair of games. During the 2022 season, he started 10 of his 11 contests, operating almost exclusively at left guard. The former UDFA signed a one-year deal in March to provide depth on an offensive line which faced plenty of questions ahead of the campaign. Given the low-money nature of New England’s investment, Leverett’s release will produce only $575K in dead money while yielding $1.2MM in cap savings.
Leverett earned a PFF grade of 64 in 2022, but his evaluations through the rest of his career have left plenty to be desired. The extent of his struggles in Week 5 will certainly not help his market value, although teams around the league are often interested in healthy depth up front. The Rice product will look to help his free agent prospects by latching onto a roster in short order, something which could result in new playing time opportunities.
Andrews is out for the year after he underwent shoulder surgery, but he is under contract through next season and will reprise his starting gig once healthy. Brown is now positioned to handle first-team duties moving forward as the 1-5 Patriots look to find a successful combination up front.
Who is the Patriots backup center?